The Karnataka State Commission for Women has urged the Union government to see to it that a case is filed in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Ireland doctors responsible for the death of Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar.

Savita suffered a miscarriage and died of septicaemia on October 28 after she was denied termination of pregnancy. She was refused an abortion as it is against the law in Ireland.

Inaugurating a two-day seminar organised by the commission to discuss crimes against women and measures to prevent such crimes, at Hurkaldi Ajja Law College here on Wednesday, commission chairperson C. Manjula said the State government should pressure the Union government to see to it that culprits in this case were punished as per international laws and compensation was provided to Savita’s family.

The accused in this case should be dealt with with iron hands so that it becomes a warning for others, she said. The Union government, which took the bold step of hanging Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab to death, should also take a firm stand on this case and see to it that Savita’s family got justice, she said.

She expressed concern over the increasing number of divorce cases in the country. To address the issue, the commission was planning to give a legal framework to premarital counselling, she said.

Senior lawyer C.B. Matti said exploiting women in the name of creativity and freedom of expression by the visual media should be stopped. He said the commission should take note of private organisations using transfer as a tool to mentally harass women, Mr. Matti said.

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Dharwad Rural MLA and chairperson of the Legislature Committee for Women and Child Development Seema Masuti, who presided over the function, said the committee would submit a report on the conditions of the garment workers to the government shortly.